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Wendy and Scott wedding in the barn.
There’s nothing like a wedding in a barn and this was a good one. My brother-in-law Scott Milligan got married to Wendy Schroff in a barn where they live outside Stroudsburg, Pa. The wedding was nice and the location was really cool. It took a lot of work to make the old barn ready for a wedding and it was worth the effort. More photos on Facebook.
President Obama's motorcade rolls into an Edison, NJ sub shop.
President Obama visited a sub shop in Edison, NJ, today, which is four miles from my office. The access was the worst I’ve ever seen for a presidential visit. I’ve photographed every president since Carter and it gets harder with each one. For Carter, I heard he was going to be at an event and I just showed up and showed my press credentials and got in. He was 100 miles from my newspaper’s coverage area and the paper didn’t want any photos but I was in the area and thought I’d stop by. This time our newspaper had the only local photographer in the pool and everyone else was pushed a block away. I did live blogging of the scene and snapped some shots when the motorcade pulled up. They whisked the prez into the back of the sub shop so he wouldn’t be seen by anyone. It is too bad that people can no longer see their president except on The View.
Alaska – Images by Loren Fisher
These are some of my favorite photos from my trip to Alaska.
Crevices form in a massive glacier near Achorage, Alaska.
It was a great week during my first trip to Alaska. Going there has been long my list of places to see for a long time. It is the 49th state I’ve visited, now I need to make my way to Hawaii.
The sun barely breaks through the clouds in Denali National Park.
Alaska is big. Real big. We drove over 2,200 miles during the week making a loop around the bottom third of the state. That’s like driving from New Jersey to Las Vegas. The borough of Mat-Su is the size of West Virginia.
Eagles fill the sky in Ninilchik, Alaska.
I photographed critters I hadn’t before: bald eagles, golden eagles, sea otters, moose, sandhill cranes, Dall sheep, coyote and even a pocupine. There was scenery that can’t be described. The mountains are majestic and the valleys wide. The forest is extensive and seems to last forever, until you get to the North Slope where trees can’t survive the hard winter.
An Alaskan carries her net to catch Salmon on the Kasilof River.
We met great people, natives, converts and tourists. The locals were friendly and happy to be there. They love the outdoors and most get out and enjoy it whenever they can.
The two main buildings in Chitina, Alaska.
The towns were neat, although few and far between. I like that though. Anchorage is a real city but easy to get around. Homer is eclectic. Chitina is real, old-time Alaska.
The owner of Wal-Mikes, a store unlike any other in Trapper Creek, Alaska.
I experienced more than I could expect while in Alaska, but there is so much more to see. If I am lucky, I’ll get back there again.
Frustration shows on the guy behind me in line at McDonald's.
I was sitting in a slow line at the McDonald’s drive-thru for what seemed to be 20 minutes. Yea, before you ask, I was there for a salad. I wasn’t in a big hurry, so it didn’t really matter how long I was sitting there, but the guy behind me wasn’t taking the wait too well.
Robin poses on a boulder in the Sourland Mountains.
We going trying to meet my old friends Lori and Art Smith in New York today, but we couldn’t make the schedules work. So instead, Robin and I went for a good hike in the Sourland Mountains, about 10 miles from our house.
Loren and Robin at the Sourland Mountains.
The Sourlands have some unusual geology, including huge boulders that aren’t found any where else around here. There is a boulder river that is really unique. I’ve been there many times but I still haven’t made a photo of the river that does it justice. We didn’t hike over to the boulder river today, just to the top of the hill where some really large rocks are exposed. We were hot and sweaty, but it was a good hike and another reminder of how I be 35 miles from NYC yet escape to a place like the Sourlands.
Charles Morgan is ready for another race at the Special Olympics.
If you haven’t met Charles Morgan, you’re missing out on a great friend. Once Charlie knows you for 30 seconds, you’re his friend forever. Charles first came into my life nearly 20 years ago when he was the coverboy of the Courier News’ first Wish Book, a project I got going to raise money for less fortunate folks who have a need. My wife Robin wrote the story on Charlie. At that time he lived 20 miles away but he soon moved to Bridgewater and our phone hasn’t stopped ringing since. He has become part of the family, joining us for most holiday and birthday celebrations.
Today was the local Special Olympics and Charlie is a regular participant. He blazed down the track in his motorized wheelchair and got third in his obstacle course race. Charlie has a case full of medals from the Olympics and now he has more to add.
Loren Fisher has been a professional photographer for over 35 years. He has published books on Pope John Paul II and Branson, Missouri. He is completing his latest book on the 109 covered bridges of Vermont and is founder and editor of Somerville NJ news site SomervilleToday.com
